Meat processing, analysis and classification are important so that consumers can obtain quality meat products for consumption and be provided with information about the meat at the point of purchase. The United States is a large producer of beef, pork and other meats. In the United States beef industry, beef grading standards were developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to classify carcasses into quality and yield grades. Beef tenderness is an important quality attribute associated with consumer satisfaction. Presently, the USDA grading system is unable to incorporate a direct measure of tenderness because there is no accurate, rapid, nondestructive method for predicting tenderness available to the beef industry. Thus, beef carcasses are not priced on the basis of actual tenderness, creating a lack of incentives for producers to supply a tender product. Similar issues are present with respect to pork and other meat products.
Video image analysis systems have been reported as useful for predicting beef grades. A near-infrared spectroscopy system to predict beef tenderness has also been reported; however, the beef industry has not adopted this technology due to its technological limitations and low accuracy. Categorizing meat cuts by tenderness would enhance economic opportunities for cattle and other livestock producers and processors by improving assessment of beef product quality to meet consumer expectations. Also, it would help the U.S. beef industry maintain or expand its market in the face of increasing competition from other protein sources. Labeling accurate quality factors on the packaging of retail cuts would add value to the products and benefit consumers.